NFL files motion to dismiss Brady case

Posted by Mike Florio on June 6, 2011, 11:35 PM EST

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The NFL wanted another month to respond to the complaint filed by Tom Brady and nine other players on March 11, the day the NFLPA decertified and launched a legal strategy aimed at lifting the lockout and/or giving the players leverage via the antitrust laws. In the end, the NFL was required to respond today.

The NFL exercised its option to file a motion to dismiss the case in its entirety, a move that isn’t surprising under the circumstances. We’re in the process of tracking down the full-blown legal brief, but we anticipate based on the two-page motion that the NFL will reiterate some of its key arguments against the lifting of the lockout: (1) the Norris-LaGuardia Act prevents an order ending any lockout or strike arising from a labor dispute; (2) the non-statutory antitrust exemption continues to apply for at least a year after expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement; (3) the decertification of the NFLPA was a sham; and (4) the NLRB has primary jurisdiction on the question of whether the decertification of the NFLPA was a sham.

Daniel Kaplan of SportsBusiness Journal reports that the motion has been set for a hearing in September. Look for the players to file a motion for summary judgment with a request that it be heard at the same time, with the September hearing then morphing into an effort by both sides to win the case on the merits.

By the way…this motion will be heard by Judge Nelson. So the 8th circuit wont get their hands on it until next year in which case 2011 season will be already lost and we will be talking about losing the 2012 draft.

Set for hearing on September 12, 2011. The motion says that they have until August 1, 2011 to file a full legal brief. At that point, players would have 21 days to file a brief in response. Regardless, here’s hoping that the long delay allows mounting legal costs, plus a break from judicial involvement, to push the two sides closer to settlement.

i am becoming tired of all this, and if we don’t have football in September i will not watch it again, i swore of the nba in 1989, so i can do this, i will find something else to do with my Sundays, this isn’t worth it.

This was filed in Judge Nelson’s court according to the link provided. Judge Judy rides again and then the 8th will shut her down. Look for an end to the appeals in Feb or Mar of 2012. What a sham…I hope they all suffer 3 times the amount of the fans.

Time for these two parties to figure everything out FAST. The NFL will lose more fans than it can imagine if the players and owners keep arguing about billions when the rest of the country is dying financially.

stoutfiles says:
Jun 7, 2011 12:25 AM
I’d rather miss a season of football and get ticket prices/concession prices back to where they should be. Don’t care about the players or the owners…just the lowly fans being dragged through the mud.
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They could cancel 5 seasons of football and it wouldn’t affect ticket/concession prices one bit.

Ticket/concession prices are what they are because you pay it. Unless you vote with your wallet and stop going to games, nothing that comes out of this is going to save you a dime.

Why do people have such a hard time grasping this simple economic concept?

nflfan101 how do you put a spin that three years ago the owners set up a illegal tv contract to put money in there pocket while they continue court proceedings ?
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I don’t.

But how do you deny (or spin) that D. Smith walked out of CBA negotiations, decertified the union, had certain players file suit and then did not attend at least one court ordered mediation session? You can’t.

If you want football, tell D. Smith and the players to get their butts into negotiations and to be serious about the negotiations. Tell them to make counter offers and concessions. Until they do that, this mess will continue and there will not be NFL football.

The NFL IS dead. Good riddance of a bunch of whiny spoiled-brat babies known as owners. I am SO going to love watching these chumps cry once they get their way with the republican corporate judges, only to find that WAY less people are coming to their ridiculously overpriced crap.

the players have been trying to negotiate this for 3 years, have the owners negotiated in good faith, NO,
they planned this lockout, proof is the TV contracts, the owners wasted 3 years of time, what they did was plan for leverage to beat the players down, the owners shrills want the players NOW to come to the table on their terms, this my friends is not good faith bargaining, this is a take it or leave it style, that said, the players got a very good deal and know full well it probably wasn’t going to last and they would have to give on some points, however they refuse to be bullied buy a bunch of corporate money mongers, i don’t blame them, no i don’t like it but i don’t blame them, and proof of their greed is cutting staff wages, now some will say its a sound business decision, in the event of probable loss, which means the owners are in for a long lock out, the only good thing is the owners won’t get their TV insurance fund which i think they were counting on, i hope